This month, August 2020, we are celebrating 100 years of woman suffrage in the United States! When I was first playing with ideas for this blog I thought about taking an historical approach, but my intuition was telling me, “nope, not the right way to go.” Instead I want to take this opportunity to celebrate women! I’m going to talk about the courage and fortitude of women who fought for equality through the history of this country.
I’ll let the National Women’s History Museum provide the historical education instead 🙂
RELATED POST: WHY WE STILL NEED A WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
There is so much we can still learn from the “Iron-Jawed Angels” of the woman suffrage movement over 100 years ago. Their courage, fortitude and resilience is still inspiring today!
If you are interested in learning more about the woman suffrage movement in the United States I highly recommend watching the HBO Docu-Drama “Iron-Jawed Angels” or reading the book by celebrated historian Linda Ford.
By looking to women in history like Abigail Adams (wife of founding father John Adams) and Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul and Lucy Burns (and ALL of the amazing, brave women fighting for suffrage and widespread equality in the United States) modern day women can be motivated and inspired to live authentically and in their truth every day.
COURAGE
Women who fight for what they believe in have great courage! The woman suffrage activists stood-up to ridicule, ostracization and even imprisonment. Women like Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth put their lives on the line fighting for the rights of the enslaved.
You don’t have to be an activist to need your courage. Everyday living can bring about many different challenges for which we need courage. You may need it to set boundaries with someone who is treating you poorly. Being brave is necessary to make a presentation at work or to close a sale with a big client.
Whatever it is you need courage for, take inspiration from the courageous women who fought for woman suffrage and equality!
FORTITUDE
Fortitude is the solid bedrock on which courage is built! It is what we call on when we need to access our courage in the face of severe adversity or dire circumstances. Fortitude is what Alice Paul and Lucy Burns tapped into during their imprisonment and hunger strike! It is what people of color practicing peaceful civil rights protests call on within themselves when they are sprayed with fire hoses, attacked by police dogs or doused by tear gas.
When we have fortitude we are unstoppable!
“Whether you come from a council estate or a country estate, your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude.”
~ Michelle Obama
Fortitude will not only bring you success in your career or business, but it also allows you to define success on your own terms. Having fortitude will allow you to follow your instincts about what is right for you even when others try to break you down. It allows you to survive through even the toughest adversity.
RESILIENCE
Resilience comes from drawing on your fortitude and being courageous over and over. With resilience we are able to stand strong through all of life’s ups and downs. It took over 100 years for women to achieve full suffrage in the United States. It took the incredible resilience of hundreds of women through the decades for women to receive the most fundamental right in a democracy – the right to vote.
This alone is inspiration for me when I feel worn down by society. I look to my fore-sisters to gain inspiration and say, if they can stand for hours outside The White House through suffocating heat, freezing rain, sleet and snow, I can stand strong in my convictions to bring peace and understanding into a world that so often seems dedicated to hate and violence.
When I need to strengthen my resilience I celebrate women past and present who exemplify the incredible ability to be courageous, and to draw on fortitude, under the most challenging circumstances.
PATIENCE
It takes time to build resilience. It takes patience with yourself and with the world. Practicing courage, drawing on fortitude over and over again is not a task for the faint of heart – or the impatient! People were enslaved in America from 1619 to 1865. That is over 200 years of suffering. It is over 200 years of many, many people patiently fighting for freedom.
And many, many people are still fighting for equality and fair treatment irrespective of the color of their skin, or their sex, or their chosen gender identity or whom they love.
We can draw on the example these people set for us. The example of hundreds of years of courage, fortitude, building resilience and patiently waiting for change…
And change does come. Slowly our society changes. Little-by-little we see protective laws come about. Over time we see our society become more accepting.
With patience we can see ourselves grow stronger, more courageous and more resilient.
100 YEARS OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE
We’ve come a long way baby. More women than ever before are now serving in the U.S. Congress. We saw our first African American President with Barack Obama. For the first time ever a woman candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton, won the popular vote in a U.S. presidential election. As of this writing the first African American woman Vice Presidential candidate is running on the ticket of a major political party.
We don’t have to be politicians, actors, athletes or cancer researchers to be like these women! In other words, we don’t have to compare ourselves to them and despair over ourselves. Instead we can draw inspiration from them to be the most courageous AND self-assured versions of ourselves.
Take inspiration! Be motivated! Have patience.
Inspirationally Yours,
Jen
JEN ROBINSON
Jen Robinson is the creative force behind the wellness brand Peaceful Living Wellness which is dedicated to providing a wide-variety of high-quality wellness information. Jen is also the creator of the Peaceful Living Wellness life coaching division, and offers workshops, individual and group coaching as well as retreats where she guides women in using Mindfulness and Mindset to build their inner strength on a foundation of inner peace. Jen also is the co-creator of the business coaching brand CEO Mindset that guides entrepreneurs in building their businesses without burning out.
The latest addition to her repertoire is that she recently signed-on as the Wellness Director for the business development company Wealthy Women Entrepreneurs . She is very excited to be leading this group of dynamic women entrepreneurs into success in their businesses and lives!
The most important part of Jen’s life are her two very active teenagers, AJ & Layna!
Jen’s Mindfulness and Mindset techniques inform her business, her parenting and her life!
FACEBOOK FACEBOOK GROUP INSTAGRAM PINTEREST
